This is more of a personal list of villains than a popular one. There will be some obscure characters in this list and a lot of them are going to be from the Transformers franchise. Instead of easing you into it with more familiar names, I’m going to go through a personal order as well. In addition, and this might be confusing, this is not exactly a toy review as much as a pseudo character study and toy interpretation so I’m not here to showcase the transformation. After all, if I start transforming every iteration of this toy into its six modes this will take another week. It’s the character that I’m focusing on.
Life is worth living only as long as there are enemies worth destroying.
A vile, nasty murderous sort who carries out his job with ferocious intensity. Only redeeming quality is he speaks well of those he’s sent to “the great junkyard in the sky,” his phrase for destruction. Has 6 forms: robot, armored carrier (with twin laser batteries), ramming-tank (with infra-red rangefinder and target tracker), jet-propelled laser pistol, star fighter (maximum speed: 80,000 mph; range: .8 million miles), and wolf-creature Modes. Only the wolf creature has no need for Sixshot’s 2 hypersonic concussion blasters, the wolf Mode prefers to rip apart enemy Autobots with his razor fangs.
– Tech Specs for Sixshot (G1)
Sixshot has had quite a career. This one-robot army whose official duty as a S.T.A.G (Solo Transformers Assault Group) makes him a god of destruction. He has been the Decepticon City Commander, the famed “Ninja Consultant”, a Phase Sixer and finally his own free agent. Notably, Sixshot’s casting as a “vile, nasty murderous sort” has been tempered by the fact he has a redeeming quality. He’s over-powered as hell and quite intelligent. In the Japanese Headmasters continuity, he killed Ultra Magnus in battle and made a temporal truce and protected human Daniel Witwicki. His robot ninja status has granted him the ability to replicatens of himself and become invisible as well.
In the first IDW continuity of 2005, he was one of Megatron’s Warriors Elite after undergoing a procedure that made him nearly indestructible. He was also picked to be a Phase Sixer by Megatron, who had installed a secret vocal switch in case he turned against him. It was Starscream who would resort to that switch after Sixshot’s business with the Reapers which deactivated him. He would later be part of Galvatron’s plans with the Dead Universe under mind control. He would later trade the technology with Megatron to gain his freedom. He would later encounter the Throttlebots and be crushed and stepped on by Metroplex, but apparently survived even that ordeal. According to Goldbug, he later resurfaced but was defeated but that was something that happened off-screen.
He’s appearing now in IDW’s new continuity started in 2019. He’s back to his vile and murderous ways, mostly as a mercenary working for Shockwave and Megatron. So far he’s been stabbed by Windblade but continues to function. Rather than being clearly defeated, he’s usually been forced to withdrew as his attention has been called elsewhere or his priorities have changed. Although he’s not drawn as big as usual, he seems to remain a force to be reckoned with and quite hard to defeat or pin down.
Personally, I’ve always loved his robot design. Even in his G1 original brick form, the details just pop out. His wings on the back angled upwards with the small ones on his pecs opened up make him look kickass. His original G1 version has very limited mobility. Third party version have made quite some modern day improvements. GCreation GWD-03 Fuuma is the largest version that emulates his IDW incarnation. FansToys Ft-28 Hydra seeks to redefine his G1 look. And then there’s the smallest Sixshot, which seems to be Iron Factory’s IF-EX19 Shadow Tengu. It still transforms in all six modes and has tons of articulations for such a small frame.
If I have to pick favorites, and of course we’re keeping the whole set I have to start by process of elimination. Although overall Hydra looks like the best compromise, it’s also the less colorful and the wings always look uneven to me. The original I’m never letting go of, so that’s a lock although it’s really a brick with little articulation. The obvious favorite is Fuuma, although time is not kind to his rubber tank treads which end up eventually cracking and falling off. However, it is the most striking and colorful as well as imposing. There is only one bias wrecker that ties with him for the favorite spot and that’s Shadow Tengu. Even with his small size, he remains articulate, he comes with two swords and two hypersonic concussion blasters and he can store his guns or his swords on his back. His swords also can hang from his hips, giving him the samurai look. He’s also a lot easier to transform than his larger brethren which makes him fun to pick up.
As a proper villain, he’s mostly received the henchman treatment as of late. Usually he’s either good enough to be sent solo or lead other henchman with him. I dread having him appear on film, since I think he’d just be a background bad guy. I actually dread of any favorites appearing on film since Bay’s horrible movie version of Jetfire. I’d rather he’d remain obscure to the public at large. On the other hand, I wouldn’t mind him having the spotlight again, even for a little while. He’s done enough work for six. He’s not going to miss his shot.
That will do for now.
Never Think Impossible 